Review by Jessica Staten in KIN 435 (section 2)
The story is about the Corporate Sponsorship Program at Conway High School in South Carolina. This program has been used at Conway since the 1980s when Chuck Jordan, the Athletic Director and Head Football coach, first came to the school. The athletic program needs money so it uses its Booster Club and Letterman Association to attract local business and organization to become sponsors. Matt Varnadore, the Associate Athletic Director of Marketing at Conway, says that the program is all about the students. The Booster Club, made of about 30 volunteers, helps athletics also by fundraising throughout the year. The CHS Letterman Association is made of previous varsity athletes that want to help support the Athletic Program and for an annual fee can receive Letterman Lapel Pin and their name in the Football Program. Each year Conway High School has around 30 corporate sponsors each year. Corporate sponsors pay $500, while Non-corporate sponsors pay $1000. Some of the benefits from a sponsorship include signage on one of three scoreboards in football, baseball, or softball; a sponsor can also purchase an annual sponsorship which gives them the opportunity to advertise at numerous events, become a football game sponsor, and purchase membership into the Booster Club and Letterman’s Association. On special deal that Conway High offers is the Football Game Sponsorship Program. In this program, a business can pick a specific home game to sponsor and have the entire night focused on their business. They are given 12 general admissions tickets, use of the view box, four public address announcements, and can set up a booth to have giveaways, raffles, and other promotions. By using the Booster Club to solicit local business and organizations and networking through the CHS Letterman Association, Conway High School has successfully kept their athletics program running successfully. By giving the sponsor many benefits in their packages, they make the business or organization feel like they are the top priority. This strengthens their relationship with the school over time.
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